Such a Sad Affair
by Oh Prairie Rose
Summary: With every salted tear that made its way down her pretty face, the image of one particular woman pierced itself through her retina. It wrings.
1. Intro

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Body of Proof or any of its characters.

This story has been floating around my hd since forever. I started writing this before SIII, not knowing a thing about Tommy. As SIII went along I decided not to continue the story, for it was too far removed from the series. However, now that BoP has ended I think the time is right for this story. It'll offer some sort of alternative ending to Megan's love life. Because yes, I ship Kegan like WHOA.

This story won't be all that pretty. My take on Kate is a very bitter one. The story starts in the late 80s and will continue on until the present. I am planning on reworking the chapters though so I will probably upload one new chapter once a week. This is merely the intro - the chapters will be a bit longer (:

* * *

_They say that "I love you" loses its value over the years._

Every time Kate came across any allusion to that nonsense she could not help but roll her eyes and shake her head in disbelief.  
She could still vividly remember Megan telling her she loved her.  
It was the sound of those words, coming from that particular mouth, that kept Kate going and that made her fall apart, all at once.

_It had been twenty years, but that image of Megan's "I love you, Kate" was engraved on her mind forever._

* * *

_R&R!_


	2. 1987

**_Winter 1987  
... ... ..._**

Kate Murphy stood facing the mirror trying to replicate the hairdo displayed in the fashion magazine in front of her. After a couple of failed attempts, she got it right, the confident smile reflecting in the mirror was saying it all.

She straightened her silk blouse and tugged on her pencil skirt until she was fully satisfied with the young woman staring back at her. With this look she could effortlessly pass as twenty-two, twenty- four maybe.

Dr. Heller had invited the eighteen year old student to his master class. It was Kate's first year at university and from the very beginning she had gained interest from several academics, amazed by the intellect radiating from the young blonde.

The thought of taking a class with a set of senior students intimidated Kate, which left her determined to alter her youthful appearance a little to trick the others into thinking she was actually one of them.

She arrived a few minutes early, opting for a seat in the middle of the room, so she could study Dr. Heller as well as the students in front of her. No one seemed to think her out of place, Kate softly smiled to herself. Mission accomplished.

Dr. Heller had been talking for a solid ten minutes, having every students' undivided attention, when the doors opened and another student came rushing into the room, her red hair bouncing off her slim shoulders.

Kate turned her head towards the redhead, expecting her to apologize for interrupting the lecture, but she just walked down the class room stairs to sit down - front row, mind you.

"The interesting matter of the brain," Dr. Heller continued, directing his words to the young woman in front of him, "there seem to be something wrong with yours, Miss Hunt, for it does not seem to process time the way it should."

If Kate could have seen her face, she would have observed for the first time how Megan Hunt could raise her eyebrow, as if it was part of her nature to disagree with whatever the world was about to drop on her. She relied on silently judging her opponents instead.

If Kate could have seen her face, she might would have heard the sorry that lingered wordlessly on her lips, for Megan Hunt did not like to apologize, so she almost never did,

Not taken aback by the arrogance of his student, Dr. Heller continued his talk as if nothing had happened, but he undeniably had lost the attention of one of his students. Kate could not help but stare at the slender form sitting only a few rows in front of her.

Even when the lecture ended and all the students were moving out of the room, Kate felt her gaze fixed on the redhead, determined not to leave before she did. Dr. Heller, however, had different plans for the young blonde, as he motioned her to have a word with him.

Kate made it down the stairs, past the object of her attention, not daring to look at her now that she was this close. "How did you like the lecture, miss Murphy?" – "I found it to be very interesting. Thank you for inviting me" Kate responded politely, her ears focused on the movements Megan was making behind her.

She knew she was leaving when she heard a pair of heels making way towards the door, and Kate suddenly felt slightly irritated because of Dr. Heller who seemed rather persistent to have a conversation with her.

Almost thirty minutes later, Kate was heading towards the cafeteria, her mind still occupied with one particular woman. _Miss Hunt_, _I wonder what her first name is, probably something fancy French. _

She was so lost in her thoughts that she did not notice a person sliding down into the opposite chair of her table. She did not even bother looking up until Megan Hunt addressed her directly: "Are you sleeping with him?"

Surprised by the piercing green eyes that were provocatively staring at her and the red lips that had uttered the tactless sentence, rather than by the question itself, Kate was at a loss for words.

"Well, you stayed in there for half an hour, and I haven't seen you before, so you're not a regular, and besides.." Megan paused her rambling for a while "..you look the look", raising her eyebrow once again, judging Kate.

* * *

_R&R!_


	3. 1988 I

**_Summer 1988_**  
**_... ... ..._**

Taking a deep breath, eyes temporarily glued to the ceiling, Kate softly knocked on the burgundy dorm door. _No reaction. Maybe she isn't in? Of course she's in, She's probably just asleep._ Kate made sure her knuckles came into firmer contact with the burgundy and this time she thought she heard something moving on the inside. In a final attempt, she started whispering: "Megan! Megan? Megan!"until the door opened to reveal a rather disheveled looking redhead.

"What?" hissed Megan through gritted teeth, looking anything but amused. "I'm sorry to wake you at this hour, Megan, it's just.. the lab assignment.. I think we may have missed something..", Kate turned to biting her lip the second she had finished the sentence. When there came no direct response, the blonde looked up at the other girl with the biggest blue eyes. Megan however, must have been immune to cuteness for she sent her a sharp glare, pronouncing a pretentious "impossible", before closing the door on her.

Kate sighed, nodding her head, rolling her eyes, but she didn't have to think twice about knocking on Megan's door once again. Noisily. The force with which Megan threw the door open almost made Kate lose her balance but the blonde quickly recovered, her sweet expression having turned dead serious as she addressed Megan, who was staring at her with narrow eyes. "Maybe you would like to sit and study here all summer, but I could do with a little vacation. So either we're fixing this together, or I'm doing it all by myself. Your choice.."

"We won't have to. Because there's nothing to fix," Megan responded resolutely - half annoyed, half triumphant - "I have never made a mistake during a lab experiment!" Kate shook her head again. "Do you always have to be so damn sure of yourself?"Megan straightened her back, trying to stand as tall as the blonde, "I believe I have every reason to!"

"Suit yourself. If you should change your mind, I'll be in the lab. Working out what that Hp2-2 binding is doing there." Kate threw her backpack over her shoulder and left, without shooting Megan another glance. The redhead remained still in the doorway, a frown removing the sleep from her face. It started to dawn upon her, they had indeed missed something. A jolt of panic shot through her. The due date was tomorrow morning, leaving them with one night to fix their three weeks of work. "Kate! Wait for me!"

**... ... ...**

On her way to the lab, Kate angrily kicked some little stones off her path. She had expected Megan to be in denial of their experimental letdown but she couldn't understand how someone could be this arrogant. Like Megan, Kate too felt confident about her abilities, but unlike her, Kate had always realized there was room for improvement, for anyone.

Regardless of her overconfidence, Kate had come to like Megan. A lot. During her first semester at university, the young student had tried to seek out the company of the redhead as much as possible, looking for some sort of guidance that could possibly maybe turn into friendship.

Dr. Heller had insisted that Megan was to become Kate's student guide, helping her out with course material that might prove a struggle for the freshman. At first, Kate was convinced that he had assigned her to Megan to exasperate the redhead, but after their first study session Kate realized she couldn't have been more wrong: Megan Hunt was brilliant.

Having almost reached the lab, Kate started walking more slowly, smiling softly as she remembered their first lab session together.

"_I want you to understand that I'm only doing this because Dr. Heller made me.." The remark left Megan's bright red lips with a sigh, only to be returned with a radiant smile from the younger girl next to her. The redhead's expression softened, addressing her new lab partner with a hint of amusement:"Please don't tell me 'haptoglobin' excites you?"_

Kate felt a bitter sting of tears in her eyes. It had taken some time for Megan to adjust to her company – _sometimes Kate wondered if Megan had any friends at all_ – but being mutually appreciative of an intelligent mind, the two girls had soon formed a close bond. Tonight was the first time Kate had felt disappointed by her new friend and it hurt her more than she'd like to admit.

Finding her student badge in the dimly lit corridor wasn't all that easy, especially after her trivial argument with Megan. Frustration caused Kate's backpack to land on the floor with a thud. The blonde lowered her knees to the floor, her hands wiping the distress away from her eyes. _Don't be silly, Kate. What's more important? Your career or Megan?_ Afraid that her heart might actually whisper Megan, Kate stretched her legs and stood up again.

Kate lingered in front of the lab door when she realized she had left her backpack on the floor. She turned around to see a slender figure picking it up off the ground, not taking in it was Megan until they were almost face to face. Megan offered her the bag, flashing a cute smile that made Kate's knees go weak. Accepting the backpack and the smile, Kate tilted her head to the side, looking at Megan with a sense of accomplishment: "Look who came back!"

"You got me at spending the summer studying. That would be too much, even for me." Megan said with a chuckle. "Wise decision, miss Hunt!" Kate responded, attempting to imitate the voice of Dr. Heller. This caused Megan to laugh, which swiftly turned into a smirk: "You're not waiting for me to apologize then?"Kate sent her friend a sideway glance: "No." Megan raised her eyebrow before Kate continued: "After all.. the assignment should be finished by tomorrow morning!"Megan accepted the wink with a pretended pout. Feeling her mood change from blue to the brightest shade of pink, Kate playfully pushed Megan through the lab door. "Let's get it started then!"


	4. 1988 II

**_Summer 1988_**  
**_... ... ..._**

The two students worked for a solid three hours when their need for caffeine got the better of them. As they walked the corridor to the coffee machine, Kate attempted to spin the conversation from science to small talk. "So, what are your plans for the summer?"

"Anything, as long as it doesn't involve my mother.." sighed Megan, causing Kate to giggle. She had never met Joan Hunt but she had heard the stories, or better the lack thereof. It had been easy for Kate to relate to Megan's distanced relationship with her mother, since she wasn't exactly close with her parents either.

As the daughter of a general and a military nurse, her home had been wherever her father was stationed; both her parents were so preoccupied with their jobs that they didn't have much time for Kate and her brother. The blonde often wondered why her parents had children in the first place. _Probably because they thought they had to, to be considered normal._ Kate knew she wasn't going to fall for that. If her job was to come first – and she knew it was bound to be so – having children was out of the question. "Do you want to have children?"

"Maybe. But not this summer!" Megan grinned at Kate, wondering what was going on inside her friend's head that could explain the transition from holiday to future plans. Kate started blushing once she realized how incoherent she might sound to Megan. "I was thinking about my parents. How it would have been better if they didn't have any children.." She was met with an understanding nod, "It's the same thing with my mother. Although lately I think she's the one wondering whether having me was the sensible thing to do." Kate held up her plastic coffee cup and gestured Megan to imitate her action: "Here's to our beloved mothers!"

Returning to the lab, Megan picked up the light-hearted part of their conversation again: "No honestly, I'm thinking about spending the summer at my father's lake house. It's so beautiful out there!"Kate noticed how serene Megan looked all of a sudden, stirring up her interest to learn more about the lake house. "Your family has a lake house? I thought those only existed in romantic movies." Coming to a halt in front of the lab door, Megan teased: "You should come over some time, I'm sure it'll beat your expectations!"

Kate spent the rest of the night trying to retrieve her concentration. _Was she flirting with me?!_ Yet somehow, they managed to finish their assignment by the time the first rays of light hesitantly shone through the lab windows. Expecting Dr. Heller to be in his office already, Kate and Megan decided to visit him straight from the lab to present their results.

They appeared to be the first students to arrive. The strong smell of coffee that seemed to emerge from Dr. Heller's office hinted however, that their professor was ever so present. "You knock!" Kate frowned back at her friend: "No, you knock!"Megan decided to play her final card: "I think you should knock.. since you're the one sleeping with him!"This earned the redhead an elbow shove from Kate, "Shht! He might hear you!" But at the same time, Megan's reference to their very first conversation sent an unknown warmth through her body, causing her to give in and knock on Dr. Heller's door. "Come in!"

Once inside, Kate couldn't help but notice how Megan's foot kept tapping impatiently on the soft carpet. _She's nervous after all? Cute!_ Dr. Heller was studying their paper intently, with his best possible poker face on. Kate reached out for Megan's hand and squeezed it reassuringly, causing the redhead's foot to hold still, earning Kate a perceptive wink.

"Miss Murphy, Miss Hunt, you'll get your grade within two weeks but I can tell you now that I am very pleased with what I've been able to make out from your study so far."Dr. Heller looked at this students with approval. "Miss Murphy, good luck with the rest of your exams, although I am sure you don't need the encouragement" Kate smiled politely and looked at Megan who was staring expectantly at their professor.

"Miss Hunt, we'll be meeting again this Friday.." Kate watched as Megan's face fell, ".. to discuss your internship at my private clinic this August" The blonde let out an audible gasp, ready to hug her friend in congratulatory happiness, but instead she followed Megan's example and shook hands with their professor. "Have a nice day, Dr. Heller!"

Once the door closed behind their backs, Kate pulled Megan into a tight hug, planting a spontaneous kiss on her freckled cheek. "Megan! Congratulations! You've got the internship! This is what you wanted!" The redhead seemed taken aback still by the good news, but her green eyes were sparkling fiercely. She hugged her friend back, grabbing hold of her hand, squeezing it like Kate had done minutes earlier, "Would you like to join me for the summer? In the lake house?"

* * *

_R&R!_


End file.
